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Institute for Homiletics

A Collaboration of The Catholic Foundation and the University of Dallas

Ordinary Time

The Divine Master

Imagine you are the servant in this story. You’ve worked all day in the summer heat. The sun begins to set. Your stomach growls.  A voice calls. You turn. The master of the house stands in the doorway of the hut. He is ready for his evening meal. 

When you see him in the distance, what story comes to mind? Do you recall, when you first came to this house as a nine-year-old, how you had to lift bales heavier than you had ever lifted before? Do you clench your teeth now as you trudge past this hard taskmaster into the house? You know he doesn’t care. As you knead the bread, hunger overwhelms you. Serving this master is a burden. 

When you see him standing there, what story do you remember? Do you see the face of a man who rescued you from starvation after your parents died? Do you hear the call of a poor farmer who is willing to share his food with you in exchange for help in his fields?  You trust him to love you. As you walk into the house, do you look up into his eye and give him a smile of gratitude? Serving this master is a joy. 

Same house. Same people. Different story. 

What about the Divine Master? Do we clench our teeth as we trudge past him in the doorway, thinking, “How much you owe  me!” Is it a drudgery to wait on this Lord? 

That same Master girded his loins, put on a towel, and washed his disciples’ feet. Then he gave himself up for us on the cross. This is the Story of stories that the Holy Spirit wishes to embed into our memory. Is serving this Master a joy? 

How does faith increase? When remembering that Story of stories, of Love that loved us even unto death.

Consider/Discuss 

  • We are inundated with stories—stories that create division, stories that spur commitment to a cause, stories that encourage allegiance to a brand or product. Marketers know that memories form attitudes and attitudes impact behavior. What difference does it make what stories we allow to swirl around in our heads? How can we allow the Holy Spirit to recast our internal stories of resentment and hardness into God’s blessed story of belovedness? Why does it matter that we do? 
  • Like the servant in the field, there is one key to the difference between a service of burden and a service of joy—how we remember the One and the ones for whom we work. A parent will get up at night for his/her week-old baby. An undocumented immigrant will work two jobs so that her ten-year old brother can have a better life than she does. A husband will wake up hour after hour in the night to make sure his wife is still breathing. We will do these things for one whom we love. As we serve others, do we approach our responsibilities as a burden or a gift? 

Living and Praying with the Word 

Good Master, I want to look up into your face with a smile of  gratitude. But sometimes your peace feels a long way off and I stare  at the ground. You know that I get weary from working in the field.  Do not allow me to become bitter from suffering but help me to tackle the tasks of life with courage. Increase my faith, my inner assurance, so that I count on your faithfulness. You who are dear to me, you have given me a home. Let me be your faithful servant.  

Holy Spirit, come, awaken that Story of stories in me once more.

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The Lord Hears the Cry of the Poor

“Rock-a my soul in the bosom of Abraham . . .” 

She hummed the tune as her hoe worked the hard red clay.  The bosom of Abraham. The best place to be. In her nine years at Momma’s knee, she’d heard lots of Bible stories. This was her favorite. No matter what the boss man demanded, Father Abraham wrapped his arms around that little beggar and kept him safe. No troubles could touch him anymore. Nothing but love. She wondered what color was Lazarus’ skin. 

“Rock-a my soul in the bosom of Abraham . . .” 

She hummed the tune. Her insides hurt so bad. The little brother who had kept her warm for so many nights, his space was cold tonight. He was too light-skinned. They had sold him away this morning. 

“Rock-a my soul in the bosom of Abraham . . .”

Daddy said that old Jeb had died. He was too feeble to pick cotton.  He fell. The overseer beat him to get up. The old man couldn’t.  Daddy had shouted out, “That’s not right!” After she heard him tell it, Momma and Daddy were silent. She could feel the trouble in the room. As the sun went down, Daddy kissed her and said, “I love  you, darlin.” They knew. He would not be there in the morning. She hummed through her tears. 

“Rock-a my soul in the bosom of Abraham . . .” 

Momma went to work at the main house. She said, “Keep your  head down, girl!” The master’s twenty-year-old son was lookin’ . . .  taking a shine to her, now that she was almost twelve. 

“Rock-a my soul in the bosom of Abraham . . .” 

Momma told how she’d heard the men talking after church about  Jesus’ story of the rich man and Lazarus. The master had leaned  back in his leather chair with his cigar and said, “I don’t really  understand.” 

She and Momma held each other, just the two of them now, and  sang softly. 

“Rock-a my soul in the bosom of Abraham . . .” 

Consider/Discuss 

  • When life is full of trouble, the bosom of Abraham is the best place to be,  wrapped in love for all eternality. Look at history. How does the promise of heaven get us through dark earthly times? 
  • The prophet Amos warns about the complacency of the rich. The psalmist  says that the Lord secures justice for the oppressed. You and I will be held accountable for what we do in this life. What is one thing that Father Abraham would want you to do today to make this world a more just place? 

Living and Praying with the Word 

Lord, open our eyes to see what we do not see. Open our hearts to do what we can do. You know the troubles that we have. You know the troubles that surround us. You are the Savior of the world.  We are not. We cannot save everyone or everything, but show us our part. Show each of us the role that we have to play in bringing about your kingdom. And please, Holy Spirit, come, come to heal  the divisions of this world. We are broken. We break others. We are hurting. We hurt others. We are in need of your justice. Come, Holy  Spirit, come.

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Scripture Study for

Last week we heard Amos railing against unjust business practices. This week he focuses on the complacent wealthy who live much better lives than the average Israelite, which gives rise to divine anger.  Although the first verse of the reading refers to Zion (Jerusalem), the rest of the reading is directed toward those of the northern kingdom, here referred to as “Joseph” (two of the main tribes of the region,  Manasseh and Ephraim, were named for the sons of Joseph). While the average Israelite hardly ever ate meat, the wealthy were reclining at table, banqueting on lamb and veal, listening to fine music, and drinking so much wine they use bowls instead of cups. As they enjoy  themselves at others’ expense, or at least heedless of the suffering around them, they are blind to the disaster approaching, as God  sends the Assyrian Empire to bring judgment on “Joseph.” They are, so to speak, fiddling while Rome is burning.

Paul has emphasized to Timothy the vital importance of maintaining sound teaching and discerning and refuting false and misleading teaching. This apparently was a difficult and never-ending task in Ephesus, where Timothy was. It required perseverance, lest one either fail in the task or become bitter, losing “love, patience,  and gentleness” in the process. Using one of his favorite metaphors (1 Corinthians 9:24–27; 2 Timothy 4:7), Paul urges Timothy to “compete well for the faith,” as an athlete runs the race to the finish, in this case to eternal life when Christ comes again. Timothy’s noble confession, which he most likely made at his baptism, mirrors that of Christ. Both have been publicly faithful to the truth in the face of fierce and even dangerous opposition. 

The story of the nameless rich man and Lazarus reflects the profound reversal of fortune Jesus had already proclaimed in the Beatitudes (Luke 6:20–21, 24–25). As the story progresses it becomes clear that the rich man’s sin was not being wealthy; his heart has become warped to such a degree that he cannot cross the chasm between heaven and hell. Not only did he ignore Lazarus while both were still alive, but even in death he acts as if Lazarus owes him something. He demands that Abraham send Lazarus to relieve his suffering, and then he begs him to send Lazarus to warn his brothers. The arrogance and blindness that may have stemmed from a complacency born of his wealth explains his fate. But he had absolutely no excuse, for the law and the prophets repeatedly warned him of the dangers of wealth and of ignoring the needy at his door. 

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Saintly Scoundrels?

Scoundrels. We’re not supposed to like them. They’re not role models for moral living. They’re not heroes. But every once in a while, there’s a story that makes the edges of your mouth curl into a bit of a grin—not because what the rascal did was right, but from the cleverness of it all. 

The 2002 film Catch Me if You Can does that for me. It is based on a true story. Young Frank Abagnale, Jr. is a con man, a forger, and a trickster. Before he turns eighteen, he’s been a bank robber, a doctor, a lawyer, and a co-pilot for a big airline. He shouldn’t have done what he did. But it sure makes me smile at the cleverness of it all.

Did the corners of Jesus’ mouth curl into a grin as he retold today’s story? Rascal number one: the absentee landlord who charges outrageous interest (observant Jews loathed that kind of villain). Rascal number two: the steward who gives that wealthy villain his come-uppance: Re-write nine hundred gallons of olive oil owed as four hundred fifty? Yes, sir! Six hundred bushels of wheat?  Write down three hundred? Ha! Surely! Thanks! You can come over to the house for bread and wine any time! 

In Jesus’ day, taxes weighed heavily. Interest rates could be as high as fifty percent. Under the Romans, Jewish farmers were reduced to poverty, enslaved and sold or thrown into prison for non-payment. To forgive a debt was life-changing. This steward knew how to become a friend forever. He was prudent. Smart. Cunning. Still a scoundrel. 

We are not called to become scoundrels. But could we use our ingenuity to build the kingdom of God? Faithfully, in little things?  How could we wisely use our wits and our wherewithal to improve this world? Could we make Jesus grin too at the cleverness of it all? 

Consider/Discuss 

  • A third of Jesus’ parables talk about money. He had likely been a small businessman in a carpenter shop in Galilee; he didn’t disdain money or disparage making an honest living. Money was needed to feed one’s family.  But he did challenge his followers to keep money in its proper place: God is God, money is money. We cannot serve both. We can ask ourselves, where does my allegiance lie? What most tempts me to trust in possessions for my security rather than putting my faith in God’s providence? 
  • When times are hard, people get scrappier. When things are flush, there is not so much cleverness needed. People relax and don’t think or work so hard. Throughout history, great effort has gone into conniving and  cheating. Jesus knows human nature. He is not surprised by this. But  today he urges us, his followers, toward greater scrappiness: Come on! Be  clever! Be wise! How can you and I better use our God-given smarts and  shrewdness to build the Kingdom?

Living and Praying the Word 

Lord Jesus, you know that navigating a faithful Christian life is  tricky. You know the tugs and pulls that throw us off track. We need money. You know we do. We need to eat. We need to put shoes on  our children. We need a roof over our heads. You know we do. These  things are gifts that you have given to us. Help us not to place the gifts  before you who are the Giver. Help us to cling only to you. Keep us on  your straight path and never let us stray. In this world of temptations, Holy Spirit, keep us focused, keep us pure, keep us sharp. For you.

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Scripture Study for

The prophet Amos is known in particular for his sustained attack on economic injustices. Here he focuses on merchants who impatiently wait for the end of festivals—during which no trade was to occur—before getting back to their business of making money.  Not only do they disdain time ordained by God to put aside such things, but when they return to them, their practices are marked by deceit and fraud. By diminishing the ephah, a dry measure, and adding to the shekel, a measure of weight, they defrauded customers by giving them less than they paid for. There were loan sharks even then, who would be willing even to take a poor person’s sandal as collateral on a desperately needed loan. God sees this, Amos says,  and takes note. 

It may have been that Timothy’s community felt it appropriate to pray only for fellow Christians, so that Paul feels called to emphasize that they should pray for everyone. This admonition is not only pragmatic—a small, vulnerable, and suspect religious group wants to maintain good relations with the authorities—but more importantly it is theologically motivated. There is only one God and one Mediator, desiring that all people be saved and embrace the truth that Christ came into the world to save sinners. Since all people fall within the saving will of God, whether they know it or not, Christians should gladly pray for everyone so that all may come to know this truth and be saved. This should always be done with  great goodwill, and not with “anger or argument.” 

The parable of the dishonest (or “unrighteous”) steward presents some difficulties of interpretation. The main question is whether the  reduction the steward makes in the debts is a reduction in what was  truly owed to the master (in which case the steward is once again  cheating his master for his own benefit) or whether the amount removed from the debt was the extra part the steward had added for  his own “take.” Both are possible, but Jesus’ comment at the end of the reading suggests it is the latter option. The steward, seeing that “the end was near,” abandoned his greedy “take” in order to ensure a good reception later on. The master commends him for this, and so does Jesus, who sees in his “prudence” a lesson about holding on to wealth. Just as the steward gave up his “dishonest mammon” to ensure a brighter future, so also should the “children of light” give up their clinging to mammon to ensure that they receive a good reception from God, to whom alone they should cling. In this way,  they are “trustworthy with dishonest mammon” (by not holding on to it), and so will be considered worthy by God to receive “true wealth” in the Kingdom. 

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